The invention is directed to a system for handling and reclaiming paper and, more particularly, to a broke pulping system including a reel stand located above a pulper tank for reclamation of unusable paper commonly referred to in the industry as "broke".
In the paper making industry, it can happen that a run of paper put on a reel will be defective. This defective paper is referred to as a "broke". Rather than merely burning or discarding the defective paper, it is common in the industry to reprocess it. Specifically, the broke will be deposited in a pulper where it is mixed with water and agitated until it can be again converted into paper. One prior art method for reprocessing broke comprises the labor intensive practice of removing broke from a reel known as "slabbing", by merely cutting it through, a layer at a time, with a utility knife and allowing it to fall on a factory floor. A forklift would then be used to transport the slabbed broke to a pulper. The broke would be deposited into the pulper for repulping. Repulping is done in a device called a pulper, which effectively reduces the paper to a mixture of water and fiber through intense agitation and water addition. Pulpers are commercially available devices and one such machine forms a part of the broke pulping system described herein. Slabbing operations, as described above, tend to interfere with normal production processes at the existing pulpers, which are usually intended for other purposes, causing further reduction in overall mill efficiency.